If you have time and the desire to cook from scratch, that’s great. If you don’t, instead of opting for fast food or straight up processed food, use the semi-homemade idea and use some convenience foods to speed up and simplify the process.

Plan your meals based on your schedule.

Make a list of everything you need. Nothing’s more frustrating than getting ready to prepare a recipe and not having what you need.

Plan one meal each day. Instead of planning a week’s worth of meals at one time, plan one meal each day. I like to do it that way sometimes. I tend to be more creative and I’m more willing to look through magazines or on-line for new recipes.

Plan one month at a time. If you really don’t like planning meals, do it once for the whole month. If you do that a couple of months, you can save your plan and rotate it.

Save your menus. If you have a week where you don’t feel like planning or don’t have time, re-use one you’ve used before.

Born in Kentucky, I am a wife and mom to 1 son and 2 daughters . I have an ink pen obsession, as well as a love for all things planner. I have been married for 10 years to my high school crush. I am a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

7 thoughts on “Menu Planning Doesn’t Have To Give You a Headache: Tips For Making It Easier”

I like the idea of making it easy sometimes! I don’t feel like I have to go all out everyday and that relieves a lot of pressure. Speaking of pressure, my tip to add is to use a pressure cooker! I’ve been blogging about pressure cooker recipes recently and they save so much time!

My dad always used a pressure cooker and it made things taste better along with cooking faster. It was really good for things like collard or turnip greens or beans.
I have been afraid to use one though. I remember my parents’ pressure cooker exploded one day and we had greens everywhere, even the ceiling. If someone had been in the kitchen at the time, they would have been seriously hurt.

Just chiming in on the pressure cookers, they’ve reworked them so they pretty much don’t explode now. I was worried about that too when my mom got me one but the newer ones aren’t like the ones we grew up with.